Boy, 4, Awarded $5.1 Million In Suit

May 23, 1988

LAKE COUNTY — A Cook County Circuit Court jury has awarded $5.1 million in damages to Paul Bilisko, 4, of Lake County, who suffered brain damage after he allegedly was given a solution containing excessive potassium six days after he was born in Children`s Memorial Hospital. The award was made last week following a four-week trial before Judge Irving Norman.

Barry Goldberg, the boy`s attorney, said the hospital admitted liability the day before the trial and the jury only had to consider the issue of damages. He said the youngster had been given the solution because he was born prematurely, but the medication was improperly mixed by the hospital pharmacy. ``It is an excellent hospital, and this was a tragic mistake,`` Goldberg said. He said the boy has an attention deficiency, is hyperactive and has a speech defect. The boy attends special education classes in Lake County. His father, Richard Bilisko, is a Lake County deputy sheriff.